Spray to file suit over recount

A Road Commission incumbent who failed to earn a seat in the November election will pursue legal action after requesting a recount and questioning the results.

By Shawna Jankoviakshawna@cheboygantribune.com

A Road Commission incumbent who failed to earn a seat in the November election will pursue legal action after requesting a recount and questioning the results.Don Spray said his attorneys are completing paperwork to appeal the results of the recount in 53rd Circuit Court. He said the action comes down to principal and determining accurate final numbers.“I lost by five votes originally, and then paid for the recount,” Spray explained, noting he paid $10 per precinct to have the recount conducted.The recount process began on Dec. 3 and continued on Dec. 5, when the Board of Canvassers was nearly finished and discovered a discrepancy in how the votes had been counted. It was determined that initial instructions from the state had been incorrect and votes had not been awarded properly, so the recount had to be started over.Spray said the initial recount totals had him winning by 80 votes. However, when the recount was started over, he lost by 14 votes.“It doesn’t make sense to me,” Spray said. “It comes down to finding out what is right and what isn’t.”According to the final recount numbers that were approved and certified by the Board of Canvassers, Ken Paquet (Republican) received the most votes with 7,001. Clarence O’Connor (Republican) earned the second seat with 6,630 votes. Spray (Democrat) received the least amount of votes with 6,616.The recount required physically examining and hand-counting the ballots from all 22 Cheboygan County voting precincts to ensure accuracy and determine which two of the three candidates that ran would earn seats. Multiple teams of two and three people from the Board of Canvassers conducted the recount process.County Clerk Mary Ellen Tryban has said the task was complicated by the fact there were a large number of votes to count, around 13,500, and because voters could choose two of the three candidates, leading to different variations and scenarios for each vote.Spray filed the petition for the recount after election night results came in and showed only five votes between him and O’Connor, the second place vote-getter. The election night numbers came in at 6,993 votes for Paquet, 6,628 votes for O’Connor and 6,623 votes for Spray.A recount petition must be submitted within six days of certification by the Board of Canvassers. Cheboygan County’s results were certified Nov. 19.A physical examination of the ballots in a recount can alter the election results, Tryban has said.

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